Bittersweet Harmony
by Fade Into Color
Summary: Rachel's life comes crashing down around her. Who's going to be there to help? Puckleberry. INDEFINITE HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Bittersweet Harmony**Fandom**: Glee**Author's Note**: Started out as a prompt given at **glee_angst_meme** and then I realized this story was going to turn out longer than I wanted. So, it's going to be posted in parts. Here's the first.

**Part 1**

It had all started with the day in Glee. Rachel had gotten angry about some musical selection that Mr. Schuester had decided. She stomped her foot but didn't say anything. Just sat in her seat. As the rehearsal continued on, Rachel's right hip began to hurt. She ignored it though. Figured it was just a bruise forming from being pushed into the lockers earlier.

They were now ready to practice their choreography for their next number. Rachel had been paired with Puck. He picked up and placed her down as the choreography called for but when Puck placed her down, Rachel's right leg gave way and she fell.

"Rachel, are you okay?" Puck was instantly at her side. Rachel nodded and let him help her up. "I think so," she mumbled as she stood.

"Rachel, do you want to sit down for a few moments?" Mr. Schuester suggested.

Rachel nodded and made her way over to the side of the room. She pulled her skirt away from her hip and saw a bruise starting for form. 'Being pushed into a locker couldn't have made something like this happen this fact.' She shrugged it off though.

A few more days passed and the pain hadn't gone away, the bruise got bigger. Rachel was starting to get worried, so she brought it up to her dads who in turn called her doctor.

So this is where Rachel Berry is sitting now. She's sitting in the waiting room, alone, her fathers wanted to come but Rachel insisted she would be fine on her own, of an orthopedic surgeon by the name of Timothy Damron. Upon explaining her symptoms, he had Rachel undergo an MRI scan. Now she was just waiting for the results.

An hour had passed and Rachel had gotten bored of playing Tetris on her iPod, now silently wishing she had let her fathers come along, or at the very least one of the kids from Glee. More time seemed to pass very slowly before Dr. Damron, followed by two students entered the room.

"Rachel, we have the results of your MRI scan," Dr. Damron began, taking a seat across from Rachel. The young girl didn't respond, just stared at the doctor waiting for the results.

"Are you sure you don't want your fathers here with you?" Dr. Damron asked. Rachel shook her head. "No Dr. Damron, I am fully capable of going to the doctors unaccompanied by an adult, no matter what the visit may be for."

Dr. Damron gave her a soft smile before sighing. He took the x-rays from the MRI and put them up the projector on the wall. "Rachel, come here." He said, motioning for the girl to come closer.

Rachel got up from her seat and walked over next to the tall doctor. The x-rays were of her right leg, more specifically her right femur. In the middle of the slim bone seemed to be a weird shape, looked sort of like a lump. Dr. Damron pointed to it. "Rachel, do you know what that is?"

Rachel shook her head. "It looks like a lump. Why is it on my bone?" She looked to the doctor, confused.

Dr. Damron sighed. "Rachel, we might need to do further tests but from what we can tell that 'lump' is a tumor."

Rachel's breath got caught in her throat and she started shaking slightly. "A tumor, as in cancer?" She looked as if she was about to cry.

Dr. Damron nodded. "A biopsy will help us find out what exactly kind of tumor it is and if it's malignant or not."

Rachel nodded slightly, still trying to take all the information in. "We're going to schedule you for a biopsy for the end of the week. Is that alright?"

Again, Rachel nodded.

"For the time being, you can't put any weight on your right leg because too much pressure can cause the bone to break. So, we're going to put you on crutches."

Rachel nodded and the next few moments seemed to pass in small, slow movements. A nurse came in to bring her to the physical therapy department to get crutches fitted for her. Then being pushed back to the desk to make the appointment for the biopsy.

Her fathers picking her up. Telling her fathers what was going on. Crying on the couch as her fathers held her. And crying herself to sleep. What Rachel was most scared of right now? Telling the Glee club. More importantly, telling Noah Puckerman.


	2. Chapter 2

Bittersweet Harmony

**Author's Notes:** Basically what I want to say is thank you for the response on this story! I was really overwhelmed with the amount of alerts in my inbox this morning and afternoon and I just want to thank you all so much. That's what got me writing the next part so quickly! I hope you all enjoy!

**Part 2**

Rachel knew people were giving her looks when she entered McKinley High on her crutches. That was nothing new, but add the crutches and nothing that people could tell was wrong her right leg, well the looks got stranger. She brushed them and made her way as quickly as she could to her locker. Not being used to the crutches it was rather difficult and she had to keep reminding her self to keep her right leg bent.

Finally arriving at her locker, she balanced the crutches against the other lockers as she attempted to open her locker. As she was successful, she knocked the crutches over. She sighed and let them remain there as she shoved her books into her book bag, closed her locker and slid down to the floor. She pulled her legs against her chest and rested her head upon them. "Screw everything," she mumbled to herself.

"Rachel?" came a familiar voice from above her. She looked up to see Mr. Schuester standing there.

"Hi, Mr. Schue," she whispered, looking back to the ground.

"Are you alright?" He asked kneeling down next to her.

Rachel began to nod then the thoughts from the past few days came rushing back to her and she began to silently sob, shaking her head. "No, no I'm not."

"Here, let's go to my office?" He offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. She nodded and then looked to the fallen crutches and groaned. "Here let me help," Mr Schue said as he helped Rachel up and then grabbed her crutches.

Her face was slightly red and tear stained, given the situation that was acceptable, but Mr. Schue still wasn't aware of what's going on.

They walked slowly, Mr. Schue knowing Rachel couldn't have been used to the crutches yet, to his office. He didn't say anything. The Rachel he was used to was strong, never showed emotions, right away at least. He was worried when just asking her if she was alright made her break down.

When they reached his office, Rachel took one of the seats in front of his desk, putting her right leg on the other. "Thanks Mr. Schuester, I really appreciate this," her voice was quiet.

"Of course Rachel," he took the seat behind his desk. "So, what's going on. You didn't need crutches yesterday?"

Rachel bit her lip and she knew she felt the tears coming again. She looked over to her teacher. "It's kind of, well, complicated Mr. Schue."

Mr. Schuester sighed. "I don't have any classes for the first two periods Rachel and I can give you pass if you want to talk."

All Rachel could do was nod as she tried to think of how she was going to explain this.

"Does this have anything to do why you collapsed in rehearsal the other day?"

Again, Rachel nodded. "Yeah, well, the pain continued and my dads sent me to the doctor, who had me get an MRI which led me to an orthopedic surgeon?" She tried to think of everything that happened, but all her thoughts were jumbled. She was about to tell Mr. Schue what was going on, she hadn't told anyone yet. "They found something on the MRI..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

Mr. Schuester had gotten up and once again was kneeling next to his student. "Rachel, what did they find?" his voice was calm, and he had a hand placed on her thin shoulder.

She turned her head away from him. "They, they think they found a tumor." Her body began to shake as she sobbed. This wasn't supposed to happen to her. And saying the word 'tumor' over and over again just made it more real.

Will didn't say anything at first, trying to process what Rachel had just said. "A tumor?" She nodded. "Do they know what kind, or what they're going to do?"

Rachel turned back to him and nodded. "They're doing a biopsy on Thursday morning, said a better examination of the tissue would be able to tell them kind of cancer it was."

Will nodded and then looked to the crutches. "Why the crutches?"

Rachel shrugged. "They said I couldn't put anymore weight on my right leg. The pressure might cause the bone to break. The tumor's on my femur, so, I would guess that would hurt quite a lot."

"Rachel, if you want, you can be excused for the rest of the day, you can skip glee. I'll write you a pass if need."

Rachel shook her head. "No, but thank your Mr. Schue. I would prefer to just let the day pass as normal. I'm not sure how many normal days I have left."

Mr. Schue gave her sad smile. "What are you going to tell the club?"

Rachel shrugged. "I'll tell them after the biopsy, once I know more." Will nodded and handed her a hall pass. She thanked him and made her way to the door. She turned to him. "Please don't tell anyone yet Mr. Schue, I don't think I'm ready."

All Will could do was nod and Rachel smiled and left. As his door closed, he sat down in the seat Rachel had been in and covered his face with his hands. Trying to process everything he had just been told.

* * *

As Rachel wished, the day had passed as normally as it could have for Rachel Berry. She still got the weird looks for being on the crutches but they finally seemed to stop as the day ended. Even the slushee facial. As she made her way to Glee rehearsal, Dave Karofsky figured that the crutches weren't enough torture for her. Nope. The grade, icy cold, bitch slap was the perfect icing on the cake.

She didn't bother to clean herself up, she just made her way to glee and sat down in her normal seat. She was the first one there, not surprisingly.

"Berry what happened?" A voice asked. She looked to her right to realize it was Kurt who had walked in.

She sighed. "David Karofsky must have thought I was running a fever and decided to poor a grape slushee on top my head to cool me down," her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Kurt shook his head, pulling a towel out from his bag and handed it to the girl. "Berry, I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the crutches?" he took the seat next to her.

Her breath hitched for a second before she quickly came up with a lie. "Oh, I pulled some muscle behind my knee the other day and my dance lesson." She began to rub the towel through her hair to get the corn syrup and ice chips that had been left out.

Kurt seemed to believe the lie and moved to his normal seat as more of the club members has filed into the room.

She didn't see Noah Puckerman come in and take the seat next to her, taking the towel into his own hands and helping her with her hair.

"So what asshole did this?" he asked.

Rachel shrugged. "Who do you think?"

Puck's face turned into a minor scowl, knowing exactly who had done this but then he spotted the crutches. "What did Karofsky do, beat you up too?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, dance injury."

Mr. Schue had walked in at that point and gave Rachel a sad smile before clapping his hands together. "Okay so today we're going to be working on..."

* * *

The rest of the week passed by as similar as that day had but she stopped receiving questions on why she was on the crutches or even why she was still using them.

Now she was back at Dr. Damron's office, trying to find out the results of her biopsy. She had received many texts, asking where she was, why she wasn't in school. She just couldn't respond to them yet.

Both of her fathers were currently in the other room talking to Dr. Damron. It had now been two hours since her biopsy and she just wanted to know now. If it was taking this long, then something was wrong.

After what seemed even longer, there was a knock on the door. Rachel looked up, Dr. Damron walked in followed by her fathers who seemed to be pale and in shock. She gulped. Kind of wishing this was just some sort of horrible nightmare that she should could wake up from.

"Rachel, we have the results from your biopsy," Dr. Damron began as he took the seat across from Rachel. "It's definitely cancer." Rachel felt the tears spring to her eyes and she nodded. "What kind?" she asked.

Dr. Damron sighed and began the explanation. "The kind of cancer you have is Ewing's Sarcoma. It is a bone cancer, and it's effecting your right femur. This is why we put you on the crutches. The tumor is eating away at the strength of your femur and any kind of extreme pressure will cause it to break. Are you with me so far?"

Rachel nodded.

"Though it is a rare form of bone cancer, when it is found its usually found in children your age. Fortunately, there has been enough research and we'll be able to get you started on chemotherapy after you see an oncologist tomorrow."

"Chemo?" Rachel's voice was a near whisper.

"Yes, chemotherapy. And in a month or two, we're going to need to remove the femur." Rachel's eyes shot open and she looked to her dads and then back to Dr. Damron.

"Rachel, honey, it's either that or amputation," one of her father's voice came, sort of shaky, hoping to calm her down.

Rachel nodded, trying to grasp everything. "So, I have bone cancer, have to start chemo and get my femur removed?" She looked to Dr. Damron.

"That is correct."

Rachel then fainted.

* * *

When Rachel woke up, she was in her bed. She sat up in her bed and that's when one of her fathers. Andrew, walked by. "John! She's up," she heard her father yell down to stairs to her dad.

Andrew walked into the room and sat down next to his daughter on the bed. "How are you feeling honey," he began to stroke the top of her head when her other father, John, walked in.

"I don't know, how is one supposed to feel when placed in a situation such as this?" Her fathers didn't say anything. And then the night from a few days before seemed to repeat. Crying on her bed as her fathers held her and once again crying herself to sleep.

* * *

Rachel was now sitting in the doctors office on a Ron Harris. He was going to be her oncologist through everything. And now they were going to schedule appointments for her to come into the office and get chemotherapy treatments.

According to Dr. Harris, she would come in everything 3 weeks for an hour, after Glee practice of course, and received her treatments. Her first round of the first drugs, doxocrubin and vincristine would take 6 months while her second round with the second set of drugs, ifosfamide and etoposide would take less, hopefully.

Then within two months, her right femur was going to be replaced by a metal prosthetic. 'Oh joy,' was all Rachel could say. She thanked Dr. Harris and the nurse as she made her way out of the doctors office and to her fathers car.

She pulled her cellphone out of her bag and checked through the messages. The same ones she had received yesterday but there was a new one from 'Noah'.

She opened the message and she smiled slightly. 'R u okay. Do you need me to come over?' the text read. She quickly sent a text back 'Please. It's important'.

Tonight, she was going to tell Puck.


	3. Chapter 3

Bittersweet Harmony

Author's Note: Thank you guys again for all the feedback and response on this story! I really do appreciate it and I am so glad that you guys like it! So hope you enjoy the next part! I think this is more of a 'filler' type chapter, so, I'll definitely have the next part soon! Thank you for all feedback!

**Part 3**

Rachel sat on her bed, her arms wrapped around her thin legs, trying to figure out how she was going to explain this to Noah. Little did the Glee club know, but ever since the end of baby-gate, Rachel and Puck had been hanging out together. Nothing like going on a date, but just going to get ice cream and the movies.

Things hadn't worked out with Finn like Rachel had planned. She guessed that dating Jesse was kind of an eye opener for her.

Getting off track, her and Puck had gotten close, so it only seemed right that he was the first of the glee kids to tell what was going on.

The knock on the door made her jump slightly. "W-who is it?" she stuttered out.

"It's Noah," came his voice from the other side of the door. "Come in," she replied.

The door opened and the first thing she saw with his head, a small smiled laced on his lips. Then he saw Rachel's face, the streaks of tears that had remained after she cried he entire way home from Dr. Harris' office. He frowned.

"Rach, what's wrong?" he asked as he crawled onto the bed and sat next to the petite girl. She didn't say anything as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. "Rach?" She remained silent as tears began to pour from her eyes, she turned and cry into Puck's shoulder.

Puck rubbed her back, trying to get her to calm down. "Rach, what is it?" he looked down at the girl in his arms.

"Noah," she whispered, looking up at him. Her brown eyes red from crying. "I'm sick.." she trailed off.

Puck furrowed his brow, sort of confused.

"Sick, like, the flu or something?"

Rachel shook her head. "Sick, like..cancer," she whispered the word then buried her head into Puck's shoulder.

He didn't have a response, he just pulled her closer and held her, letting her cry into his shoulder. He fought back his own tears, trying to stay strong for the girl in his arms.

They sat like that for a while. Puck kept his arms around her, she had tucked her head under his chin and the two never felt closer.

After a while longer, she finally pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes. Noah looked at her, biting his lip. "Rach, what, I have no idea what to say."

Rachel shrugged. "There really isn't that much to say," she looked down and started playing with the bottom of her shirt.

"How did you find out?"

She sighed. "Well, remember when we were doing the choreography in glee rehearsal and I fell?" He nodded. "Well, my fathers decided to investigate more into the problem after the pain didn't leave and the bruise on my thigh increased in size. I got an MRI and they found a tumor on my right femur.." she trailed off, wiping away the tears that tried to escape.

Puck let out a shaky breath. "So, the crutches...?"

She looked to the crutches and then back to him. "The tumor is eating away at my thigh. The wrong amount of weight could cause it to break."

Puck pulled her against him and didn't let her go.

"I start chemo on Monday, after Glee."

Puck nodded. "I'm coming with you."

"Noah, please you don't need to see me like that-"

"No, Rachel. I'm coming with you. I'm going to be there every step of the way," he hugged her.

Rachel let the first smile in what seem like days slip and she hugged him back. "Thank you, Noah."

* * *

School that Monday was slightly different then the others had been. When she got to school, no one questioned the crutches, she figured they were getting used to seeing her on them. The minute she entered the doors, Puck was standing there waiting for her.

"Noah, you're here on time?" she asked, smirking slightly.

He chuckled and shook his head. "I wanted to make sure you got everything alright." He walked slowly next to her on the way to her locker.

"I'm fine, really," she said as she balanced the crutches against her locker and got her books for the day.

"Even with what's happening after school?" Puck asked, taking the crutches in his hands and leaning against the lockers himself.

Rachel sighed but didn't say anything. She wanted to scream. She was nervous, sick, scared and freaking out all at the same time. She shook her head.

"I actually don't know how I should feel," she slung her book bag over her shoulders and took the crutches from Puck.

Puck sighed and nodded. "When are you going to tell the club?" The two began walking to their first class, which Rachel silently thanked for Puck having it with her.

"After rehearsal," she whispered. She looked at Puck.

"Are you ready?"

"No."

* * *

Rachel sat in the back row of the choir room, next to Puck, biting her lip. She had be excused from participation since they were working on choreography mostly, Puck excused himself since he was her partner.

He held her hand in her own. "Are you ready?" he whispered. She looked at him and shrugged, shaking her head. "I'm as ready as I'm going to be."

"You could wait?"

Rachel shook her head. "Better to get it done now then when my hair is falling out in front of them." Puck didn't have a reply to that. They sat in silence until Mr. Schue started speaking to the group.

"Okay guys! Great rehearsal!" He clapped his hands together as the group began to collect their things and get ready to leave. "If you all could just take a seat for a moment, Rachel would like to say something," he looked to the girl in the back who kept her gaze on the ground.

Puck helped her get to the stool that Mr. Schue had placed in front of the piano. She looked to the group in front of her, to Puck and then back to the ground.

"Guys, I might not be as active as I usually am in rehearsals.." she started off. She knew her wording was strange, given she wasn't exactly sure how to say something like this.

"What do you mean?" Artie asked.

"You're not quitting for the school play again are you?" came Mercedes' voice.

"No! No, never. I'm dedicated to you guys but due to certain and recent health problems I need to start taking it a little easy."

Rachel looked back up at them, a look a confusion on almost all of their faces. She looked to Puck, hoping for some assistance.

"What Rachel is trying to as is…she's sick," Puck looked to the group, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"What, manhands can't just take some antibiotics and get back to being her annoying self again?" Santana's voice came over the group as she sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

Rachel sighed and looked back to the floor. Puck glared at her and moved closer to Rachel.

"What Puck means," she takes a deep breath in and looks to the group. "I have cancer."


	4. Chapter 4

**Bittersweet Harmony**

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for such the delayed update guys! Stuff's been a little hectic lately and I'm getting ready to go to Warped Tour for the weekend. So, I really wanted to get an update out. And I know there was an error at the end of the last part. Did not mean for her to call him Puck. Anyways, here's the next part!

**Part 4**

Rachel sat in the choir room alone, letting her fingers run across the keys. Randomly hitting different chords and progressions. This was her thinking time.

She had told Noah that she would wait for his football practice to get finished so he could drive her to her chemo treatment after school. (Her fathers had worked and Puck had insisted he would be fine taking Rachel)

Only an hour ago, she told the Glee club about the big 'c'. She had been nervous, for reasons she didn't know. But, how would you feel if you had to tell the few people close to you 'Oh, guess what, I've got cancer. What's the homework for French?' Not such an easy conversation now is it.

**Earlier**

"What Noah means," she takes a deep breath and looks to the group. "I have cancer." She looked back down, not wanting to face the reaction of her fellow glee club members. Puck wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rubbed her arm. She leaned against this taller frame, thankful for the comfort.

Rachel bit her lip and looked up. To her surprise, Kurt was standing there in front of her, tears filled his blue eyes. Then the next moment, the slim arms were around her, squeezing her into a tight hug. "It'll be okay Rachel, we're here for you," Kurt whispered into her. He broke away and took her hand In his own, squeezing it.

Puck stepped away and let Hummel hold the tiny girl, knowing that she was going to need these connections with the other members. Kurt instantly wrapped her in another hug and Rachel began to cry into his shoulder.

Puck watched as the other members had gotten up and slowly began to wrap around the trio. Rachel clung to Kurt but watched as the others smiled and saying that they were going to be there for her, help her fight, do anything they can.

They took individual turns hugging the tiny girl, even Santana who looked kind of shocked with the entire situation.

"We're going to be there, and if you ever need a break from the crutches, I'm sure Tina wouldn't mind you stealing my lap for a free ride," Artie said smiling up at her and rubbing her hand.

"Thanks, Artie." She said. "Thank you everyone, it really, truly does mean a lot." She wiped the tears from her eyes.

Puck smiled. The group has definitely changed. He walked back over the young girl and smiled. "Don't worry Rach, we're here for you." She smiled. The first smile that she had smiled in days. Puck couldn't help but smile back.

**Present**

Rachel smiled back on the glee rehearsal as her hands began to flow across the keys, picking up a small melody and she began to sing along.

"_I started a rumor that I was happy with my life__  
Should've told you sooner  
But it's so hard to believe"_

She continued to play and sing, getting lost in the music. She hadn't realized that Puck had walked in and was listening to her sing from the door.

"_I can't feel, it's not real_

_I can't keep from falling down again_

_So pick me up before this ends_

_I'm finding the air to breathe_

_Bittersweet harmony_

_We've got dreams to be made_

_Things are better off this way_

_So we're living in_

_Bittersweet harmony"_

"Sounds good Berry," Puck said, pulling her from her own little word. Rachel jumped slightly and then smiled when she realized who it was.

"Oh, hi Noah," she turned on the bench so she could grab her bag and her crutches. Puck walked over closer to her. "Ready to go?" Rachel asked as she got situated on the crutches.

Puck nodded as he took her bag from her and they began walking to his car. "So what song were you singing? It sounded beautiful."

Rachel blushed slightly. "Just a song I've been trying to learn. It's from a band in West Palm Beach, they're quite good actually. I have them on my iPod, we can listen to them while we're on the oncology floor."

Puck nodded and smiled. "Can't wait to listen to them. Now let's get the hell out of school."

They finally reached his car, Puck helped her get into the passengers side and then they were on their way to Lima General Hospital.

Rachel's first treatments were to be done in the oncology floor of the hospital for 3 hours every day after Glee. It would be the only scheduling that Rachel had agreed of.

* * *

The arrival to the hospital, getting checked in with outpatient registration and making it to the oncology floor was a very silent moment for the pair. Upon reaching the floor, they found Rachel a comfy chair to sit in as they waited for a nurse and Dr. Harris.

The nurse was first, explaining how they would have into insert a PICC line in for the time being until Rachel was able to schedule a port placement. The PICC line would act as an IV to have the drugs pumped into basically.

Rachel held Puck's hand as she prepared for the insert the needle into the hook of her arm. "Just breathe, it'll be okay Rach," he whispered, holding her left hand with both of us. The tears began to stream from her chocolate eyes as the nurse inserted the needle farther. "It's okay Rach, almost done." He rubbed her hand and looked to the nurse who nodded.

"All done," the nurse said as she began to clean up her materials. "And don't worry, this will the only time you'll be poked all week," she gave the girl a small smile and walked away.

"Noah I'm scared," Rachel mumbled slightly.

Puck sighed and squeezed her hand. "It's going to be okay Rach. I'll be here every day you want me and you know I'll help you as much as I can."

Rachel smiled at the idea and looked to him. "And reasons like this are why I'm glad I call you my best friend."

Puck chuckled slightly. "Best friends, eh?" Rachel nodded, smiling. "I like it then.."

There were some footsteps and the pair looked up, expecting to see Dr. Harris so she can get started on the treatment and finally go home, but no. It was Kurt Hummel.

Puck raised an eyebrow. "Hummel, what are you doing here? How did you know we even were going to be here."

Kurt raised an eyebrow in response, nodding his head towards Rachel. He crossed his arms against his chest.

"Noah, he asked, I told him. Be nice." Rachel took her hand back from Puck and snuggled in her chair.

"Plus, she's going to need as much support as she needs," Kurt began as he pulled a chair up near them. "My mom went through this when I was 6, so, I know it's good to have someone to be there with you."

Rachel smiled and nodded. "Thank you Kurt, I really appreciate." Kurt smiled in response. "Of course. Us divas need to stick together anyhow." They both giggled at that, Puck even had a smirk on his face.

"Sorry to interrupt," came Dr. Harris' voice. "But I'm pretty sure Rachel just wants to get this over this and get out of here?" He looked down to the young girl who nodded in response.

"Alright, I'll start it now," he said as he hung the bag on the pump pole, and got it running. "This should only take about two hours, three at the most. Then come back and repeat for the rest of the week." Rachel nodded.

"Now, I see you have a PICC line in. That's only temporary. At the beginning of next week, you're going to have a port placed. It's easier for transfusions, for IV's and for anything else you might need. And since you don't have chemo next week, it would be the best time."

Rachel could only nod.

Dr. Harris smiled. "I'll see you when this is done." And he walked away.

The next few hours were spent talking about glee club, glee club, how Puck wished they had an xbox on the floor and how Rachel was handling everything. Except when that question popped up, Kurt and Puck looked over to the girl and she was fast asleep.

"About time she fell asleep," Kurt whispered, leaning back in his chair. Puck nodded. "She's going to need all the sleep she can get. I heard these drugs can screw up your schedules and stuff."

Kurt nodded, fixing his bangs real quick. "Yeah. They will make her absolutely exhausted and all she'll want to do is lay in bed all the time." He kept his eyes on the sleeping girl.

Puck nodded. "Well, I can honestly say I'm glad you're here Hummel. She's going to need more than just me and her dads to get through this."

Kurt looked over at Puck and shrugged. "I know from past experiences what she's going to go through. I wasn't able to help my mom or my grandfather but I will help this little star."

It fell quiet until the small dinging coming from the pump alerted the nurses that her bag was empty and that Rachel was good to go home. They didn't dare wake her up, so after the nurse detached the IV from the PICC line, Puck picked her up in his arms and carried her to his car.

Saying a quick goodbye to Kurt, Puck set Rachel in the truck and drove her home, she not stirring the entire way.

He pulled into the Berry's driveway and parked the car. He slowly shook the young girl awake.

"Wh-where am I?" Rachel said, sitting up.

"Home. You finished chemo about 45 minutes ago."

"Oh, well, thank you Noah. For everything. And thank Kurt for me too. I'm pretty sure I'm going to just get up stairs and pass out for the night."

"Do you need any help?"

She shook her head. "I need to get used to the crutches, but thank you again Noah. See you tomorrow."

Puck reached over and kissed her forehead and smiled. "Night Berry. Pick you up in the morning?"

Rachel nodded and got out of the car, making her way up the driveway and into her house.

Puck smiled. He was happy he could be there for Rachel. Every damn step of the way.

**Author's note: **I hope this part was up to par as the others. I wanted Kurt to get into there because I love me some Kurt/Rachel friendships. Anything else you would like to see, let me know! Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Bittersweet Harmony**

**Author's Note**: I would like to apologize for how long it has taken for me to get this update out. Real life and Rocky Horror got in the way. I would like to thank everyone for the feedback that I've been getting on the story. I really do appreciate it and thank you to everyone.

**Part 5 **

Rachel's, along with Puck and Kurt's, days fell in a routine. They would go to school. Puck would help Rachel around. They would go to Glee. Then they'd all get in Kurt's car and go to the hospital for Rachel's treatment.

Kurt and Rachel had turned out to be great friends. They were able to talk about everything musical theater, and Puck just smiled at the pair. Glad that there was someone else there that could help him watch over Rachel.

Puck had started to get worried about it. Either the treatments, as it had been 3 weeks now, weren't effecting her yet the way that Dr. Harris had said, or Rachel was really as good as an actress as she said she was. She didn't show that she was exhausted, she didn't show that she wasn't sleeping, but that could be from the makeup. Luckily though, she hadn't lost any of her hair. Yet.

"All right, Rachel. Time to go," Dr. Harris' voice broke through Puck's voice and he smiled at the red headed doctor.

"Thanks doc," Puck whispered as he helped Kurt grab her things and they made their way back out to Kurt's car.

Puck put her in the backseat, buckling her up and she was instantly asleep. Puck smiled softly and closed the door, climbing into the passenger seat as Kurt got into the car as well.

The car ride was silent for a while until there was a long sigh from Kurt. Puck looked over at him in the passenger seat.

"What?"

"Nothing," Kurt replied, shaking his head.

"Dude, there's obviously something. No one sighs like that about nothing," Puck raised his eyebrow slightly and Kurt gave him a small smirk.

"How long?" Kurt asked, keeping his eyes on the road, not one looking over to the passenger seat.

"How long what?"

Kurt nudged his head towards the girl in the back seat.

"Hummel, what are you saying?"

"How long have you been in love with her?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Bittersweet Harmony**

**Author's notes:** I really am overwhelmed with the amount of feedback that I got on this story. I would like to thank everyone for the author/story alerts, for the favorites, for everything. You guys are the reason I keep writing this story. So, thank you.

**Disclaimer**: Ha, like I own this.

**Part 6**

"How long have you been in love with her?" Kurt asked, somewhat whispered.

Puck didn't say anything. His eyes grew wide and he stared at he boy in the driver's seat. His mind trying to wrap around what exactly he had just said. He quickly looked to Rachel to make sure she hadn't woken up and then back to Kurt.

"What did you say?"

"Dammit, Puck. How long have you been in love with her?" He sighed and shook his head, whispering something about a mohawk letting all the brains and insufferable idiot or something of the other.

Puck still didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. "How do you know?" he whispered, turning his head to look out the window.

Kurt gave a small smile. "I'm gay not blind. Hell, Brittany could tell that you're in, well, still in love with her." He shook his head and looked at the football player.

"Well, its true."

"Duh. And you know what Puck?"

"What?"

"I'd say she's still in love with you too."

The ride back to the Berry's household remained quiet. Puck was still trying to wrap his mind around what Kurt said. _"I'd say she's still in love with you too."_

Did that mean that Rachel was finally over Finn? And Jesse? Puck wouldn't lie. Ever since that four day stunt the two had a year ago, Puck hated breaking up with her. He hated the way he had treated her, let the other members of the Glee club treat her.

"We're here," Kurt's voice broke through his thoughts as he turned the car off and climbed out to help Puck carry Rachel inside. Puck didn't say anything as he followed and got the tiny girl from the back.

Rachel's dads met them at the door and smiled as they stepped aside to allow Puck to bring her up to her room. Kurt hung back to tell them how the day went, slipping Puck a little smile.

Puck didn't want to wake her up and knew his way around Rachel's room pretty well now, even without turning the lights on. Laying her down in her bed and covering up, he smiled. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight Rachel," he whispered and made his way to the door. He was about to close it when he heard Rachel's voice from behind her.

"What was that?" He asked, not sure if she had actually said anything and was awake or if she was just mumbling in her sleep again.

"I heard you in the car"


	7. Chapter 7

**Bittersweet Harmony**

**Author's Notes: **I apologize for the time it has taken for me to update this. Like, I really apologize. Real life caught up to me, plus a lot of watching Doctor Who, so, I hope I can make up for it with this chapter. This chapter is more fluff and I'm hoping to get into more angst with the next one. Just an early warning!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own.

**Part 7**

"I heard you in the car," Rachel's voice echoed throughout his mind. That simple six word sentence had brought the mighty Puckzilla to a statue in the doorway of the diva.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He asked. 'Maybe I didn't hear her right. She couldn't of heard me talking to Kurt, she was asleep,' he thought to himself.

He didn't turn around. He could hear her climbing out of bed though. In a matter of seconds she was standing behind him, a fragile hand placed on his shoulder.

"I heard you in the car. You and Kurt?" She stepped in front of him now, looking up at him.

"And what exactly did you hear?" Puck raised an eyebrow, trying to act like he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Don't play dumb Noah, you know exactly what I heard. Kurt said you're still in love with me," she looked down as she finished the sentence, her feet suddenly more interesting than the boy standing in front of her.

Puck didn't say anything at first. He didn't know what he COULD say. Rachel had heard him confess his love for her and now she was standing in the way of him running away. He didn't want to push her out of the way. So there he stood still, looking down at the brown eyed girl in front of him.

"Did you mean it?" Her voice was a whisper, Puck had to strain to hear it.

"Sorry, what?"

Rachel bit her lip and looked up at him, tears pooling in her eyes. "Noah, did you mean it? Do you really still," she paused for a minute, blinking and letting the tears falls. "Do you really still love me." Her gaze was back on the ground.

The awkward silence set in. Puck's voice was caught in his throat. So, instead of saying something, he did something.

Grabbing Rachel's chin slightly, he moved it for her to look up at him. A small smirk played on his lips as he nodded. "Yes, I do."

Rachel grinned. "You're not lying?"

Puck chuckled. "Why would I do something like that?" He grabbed the girl's hand and started dragging her back to her bed.

"Now, was Hummel right?" He asked her as they sat down next to one another.

"About what?"

"Do you still have feelings for me too?"

Rachel looked down at her hands and then back to Puck. "Yes, Noah. I never stopped. Finn and Jesse were just cover ups because I knew I couldn't, I couldn't act on my feelings."

Puck gently pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her. "Well, now you have me. You will always have me."

Rachel wrapped her arms around Puck's neck and kissed him. After a few seconds she pulled away. "Thank you, Noah." A smile pulled on her lips.

He rested his forehead against hers and grinned. "No Rach. Thank you"


	8. Chapter 8

**Bittersweet Harmony**

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the time that has lapsed since the last update. I've been in and out of the hospital and it's been kind of difficult to write when my only means of writing is either long hand or my iPod. So, here's an update for y'all! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own a thing.

**Part 8**

The night replayed in Puck's mind as he got into the routine of getting ready for school and then getting over to Rachel's. It was like a movie. Everything was right. Sure. Rachel was still sick but she would be better soon. Especially with Puck helping her along.

He smiled as he climbed into his truck and made the familiar route the house of Berry. He pulled into the driveway and took a few seconds to remember last night.

He and Rachel were finally together. Again. Everything seemed right.

That was until he made his way to the door and saw Mr. and Mr. Berry standing there, frowns on their faces instead of his Jewish princess.

"Where's Rachel?" He asked, peaking his head around their shoulders trying to see if Rachel was hiding behind them.

"Noah," one of them began. "Today's not a good day. Rachel's…"

"Rachel's what?" Puck's panic immediately cut him off.

"She's starting to feel the side effects of the chemo. She got sick around 5 this morning and has been sitting on the couch in the basement hugging the bucket ever since." The other one finished.

"Can I see her?"

The Berry's looked at each other and then looked back to the boy in front of them. The boy that had helped their daughter from the beginning. They couldn't deny him anything and they both nodded, parting to let Puck in the house.

He practically ran to the basement and saw Rachel curled up on the couch, a pink bucket wrapped in her arms close to her mouth. She looked so small, so sick.

Puck walked slowly towards her, not exactly sure if she was awake or not. "Rach?" He whispered.

Her head moved up quickly and she smiled at the boy but he knew the smile wasn't real. It was weird seeing Rachel like this. Her normally bright brown eyes were still big but surrounded by dark circles. She had started losing some of her hair already, Puck could see the spots near the top of her head.

"Noah?" She sat up slowly and he came to sit next to her on the couch. She instantly moved as close as she could to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her thin shoulder.

"I heard you weren't feeling too hot."

"You heard correct." Her voice was barely above a whisper, sort of hoarse.

"Well I'm staying with you today," he said as he pulled away to take off his jacket.

Rachel looked at him sharply. "No. NO. Noah, you're going to school."

"Rach, babe, it'll be okay. It'll be one day. I'll get my work from Hummel or something," he shrugged slightly and took his seat back next to her.

"I don't approve but fine. Stubborn." She turned and shoved her face in his neck, taking in the smell of cologne, one of the smells she adapted to. One that didn't make her sick.

"So what are we going to do all day?" She whispered, pulling away to look up at Puck.

Puck looked down at her in thought. She's been trying to get him to watch that movie, Hairpsray or whatever.

"We could watch Hairspray?" He smiled as Rachel's smile grew and she nodded. He got up and went over to the large DVD collection, finding it and putting it in.

The two settled there and they watched the movie. Rachel had taken the position of her head on Puck's lap where she was more comfortable. He didn't run his fingers through her hair, he didn't want to make her lose it more quickly than she already was.

Rachel had fallen asleep somewhere after "Ladie's Choice", Puck silently happy that Zac Efron wasn't holding her interest.

He tuned out the movie and gave himself some time to think. If this was just the beginning of the side effects to show, he didn't know how we was going to handle the rest. He didn't know how he can be strong for his girl when she looks so defeated, but he would. He's not letting her go this time.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Rachel began singing along to "You Can't Stop The Beat," he smiled.

Rachel's beat wasn't going to stop. Not on Puck's watch.

**Author's Note: …..I really don't know how I feel about this but I owed you guys an update. Lemme know!**


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